5 Toronto Maple Leafs on 2022 NHL All-Star Game Ballot
By Mike Jack
Fan voting has opened for the 2022 NHL All-Star game and there are five Toronto Maple Leafs on the ballot. The player with the most votes from each division will be their division’s captain.
The remaining roster spots will be chosen by the NHL. It hasn’t been announced whether or not there will be a “Last Man In” fan vote as was done in the previous NHL All-Star Game in 2020 where fans could vote for the final spot on each of the four divisional teams.
The NHL All-Star Game will continue to follow the three-on-three divisional format that has been in practice since 2016. Each division will have an eleven player roster which includes two goaltenders. Each NHL team needs to be represented by at least one player, so a maximum of four Toronto Maple Leafs can be on the Atlantic Division team.
There will be no “write in” option on the All-Star fan ballots. Write in voting was eliminated after the 2016 NHL All-Star game after John Scott was voted in as the Pacific Division captain via viral trend. Scott was known as an enforcer and only had one assist at the time.
John Scott was even traded to Montreal in the Atlantic Division and then demoted to the AHL after the vote but before the All-Star Game. Coincidentally, Scott’s Atlantic Division won the tournament and John Scott was named All-Star MVP after scoring two goals.
Five Toronto Maple Leafs on 2022 NHL All-Star Game Ballot
The five Toronto Maple Leafs players that you can vote for are Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Morgan Reilly and Jack Campbell.
Not very surprising. The most notable name omitted is obviously William Nylander who is on pace for a career year with 30 points in 29 games including 13 goals. He’s currently 13th in NHL points and 13th in NHL goals.
Nylander is having a better season than Mitch Marner. At the end of the day though, it seems like a lot of consideration goes to accomplishments made during the previous season and Mitch Marner finished fourth in NHL points last season. It would be awesome if Willy was on the ballot too but having six players from one team might be greedy.
Auston Matthews has been a part of all four NHL All-Star Games during his career (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). Though he was named to the team in 2020, he didn’t play due to injury. He was voted in as Atlantic captain in 2019 and has a good chance at winning the vote again this year.
John Tavares has played in six NHL All-Star Games and won the 2016 Accuracy Shooting competition. Mitch Marner received the “Last Man In” vote to play in the 2020 NHL All-Star Game. Jack Campbell and Morgan Rielly have yet to appear in an NHL All-Star Game.
My Atlantic Division All-Stars
If I was tasked with putting together the Atlantic Division All-Star team, here’s who I’d pick. (Let me know what you think in the comments):
F Auston Matthews (C) – Toronto Maple Leafs
F Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins
F Dylan Larkin – Detroit Red Wings
F Tyler Toffoli – Montreal Canadiens
F Brady Tkachuk – Ottawa Senators
F Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
D Rasmus Dahlin – Buffalo Sabres
D Aaron Ekblad – Florida Panthers
D Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
G Jack Campbell – Toronto Maple Leafs
G Andrei Vasilevsky – Tampa Bay Lightning
It pains me that I have to represent every team and couldn’t include more Maple Leafs. I really wanted to put John Tavares and Johnathan Huberdeau in there. Morgan Reilly would be my next defenseman.
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This year’s NHL All-Star game will take place in Las Vegas on February 2, 2022. Vote for your favourite Toronto Maple Leafs player on NHL.com